Schulz Refrigeration celebrates 50 years in business
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POLSON — Schulz Refrigeration began in a garage on the east shore of Flathead Lake 50 years ago. When the business outgrew that garage, Dick Schulz moved his business to the Polson Sawmill office, down where the KwaTaqNuk Resort stands now.
Finally he bought the building on 710 First Street E. in 1968, which was then a repair store for logging equipment.
Other than new appliance models, not much has changed, “Except I have gray hair and move slow,“ Schulz said.
Schulz pointed to a mock-up of a ductless heat pump system and said this was probably the biggest advance in his lifetime. According to the information, a heat pump “takes cold air and makes it warm and takes warm air and makes it cold, when you want it and where you want it.”
Schulz got into the refrigeration/appliance business because his dad was an electrical contractor in Miles City.
“My folks ran an appliance store, and they put me in the corner on an appliance blanket,” Schulz said.
“When I got older and if I behaved myself, I rode shotgun with my dad,” he remembered.
When refrigerators became commonplace, people needed someone to fix them, so Schulz’s dad took his first training classes from Crosley Appliances and Electronics and began installing refrigerators in supermarkets.
The Schulz family moved to Polson when Dick was in high school. He worked for Bob Smith at Smith Electric while he was “a punk kid.”
After graduation from PHS, Schulz attended Dunwoody Industrial Institute in Minneapolis. While attending the school, Schulz taught an advanced union class in refrigeration. After graduation from Dunwoody, Schulz worked for Frank Refrigeration in Minneapolis and at age 22 was the service manager.
He missed Montana so he moved his family back and began a business.
Schulz Refrigeration sells major appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers and microwaves — many of them Crosley brand — following the lead of Schulz’s father and Bob Smith, and Schulz also does repairs. The business boasts a sheet metal shop to provide ducts for heating and air conditioning.
Tucked in a back corner, is the “museum,” with antique and vintage appliances for people to enjoy.
It hasn’t always been easy staying in business, Schulz said, but the business shows no signs of slowing.
